TAMPA — Years from now 10,000 people will say they were at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Friday to witness Aaron Judge launch a batting practice pitch from Tony Pena over the massive scoreboard in left-center field.
Of course the crowd was closer to 300 Friday morning, when the 6-foot-7, 255-pound Judge flexed his considerable muscle and sent a buzz throughout the Yankees’ camp. He also homered off the black screen beyond the center-field fence.
“I didn’t see it, I heard of them,’’ said Alex Rodriguez, who is fourth on the all-time home run list. “Everybody is talking about them.’’
Of course a batting practice home run, even an impressive blast, is just that: a BP homer. Yet, it is the latest demonstration of Judge’s raw power, which the Yankees have their fingers crossed will translate into him replacing Carlos Beltran in right field in 2017.
“It happens, I am blessed,’’ Judge said when asked if he was trying to put on a power show. “I am just trying to make contact and some just happen to go that far.’’
Following the homer, Judge faced Michael Pineda in live batting practice and didn’t repeat the act.
“It’s exciting, you see a kid like that hit a ball over the scoreboard, that’s pretty special,’’ Rodriguez said of Judge, who will be 24 in late April.
Brian McCann witnessed the blasts and was impressed.
“You see the balls he hit today and it’s super impressive,’’ McCann said. “And then you meet the guy and he is top of the line.’’
Judge plowed through the Eastern League, where he batted .284 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs for Double-A Trenton. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he struggled against craftier pitchers and had 74 strikeouts compared to 51 hits. He batted .224 with eight homers and 28 RBIs.